Apple will hold a press conference for Friday to talk about the iPhone 4, as the company continues to deal with fallout from reported reception problems on its popular smartphone.

The event will be held 10 a.m. on Friday at its headquarters in Cupertino, California.

Apple did not provide any details about the press event. However, the company is expected to address the signal-strength problems that some people have reported having with the iPhone 4 when the device is held in a certain way.

Apple has faced mounting criticism from consumers over its handling of complaints about the reception issues on the newest iPhone, which was launched last month. The company
appeared to dismiss or ignore the problem, although it issued a statement, saying the problem was caused by a software glitch that overstates network signal strength. Apple promised to issue a free software update that would solve the issue.

The company has been also sued by iPhone customers in at least three complaints related to antenna problems on its newest iPhone 4 model.

Others believe that the problem is with the hardware itself, and specifically in the design of the iPhone 4: the steel band runs along the outside of the iPhone 4 and acts as the antenna.

Some other analysts believe that Apple could cost Apple millions of dollars and would also hurt Apple's prestige.

Despite the criticism and the bad press, Apple's sales have not been hurt so far, at least according to the latest sales data provided by the company.